StumbleUpon Marketing: How to Drive More Traffic to Your Content � In this podcast, Michael Stelzner interviews Nick Robinson, co-author of StumbleUpon for Dummies. Nick shares how StumbleUpon works and why it�s different than other platforms, how to discover shareable content and the type of content that works. Social Media Examiner

How to Use LinkedIn to Promote Your Professional Services � Build a routine, deepen your network, and share. These practices have worked for decades in helping professionals earn new clients and matters. Now this same process can be done online, on LinkedIn. It would be a shame to waste the opportunity. MarketingProfs

Ethical Content Curation: A 10-Step Checklist � Curation is nothing new, but many content curators are still unsure about what constitutes ethical content curation. Use this 10-step checklist as a guide. Content Marketing Institute

9 Ways the Pros Integrate Their Blog with Google+ to Dominate SERPs � Learn how to leverage the connection between your blog and the social network with the strongest social signal impact in search ranking, Google plus. Socialmouths

Twitter Now Lets More Advertisers Target TV Show Conversations � Twitter�s TV ad targeting product, launched earlier this year, lets television advertisers promote tweets to users who are referencing the shows in which their ads are appearing. Now TV conversation targeting opens this type of engagement up to those companies that aren�t running TV ads in the specific shows they want to run promoted tweets against. Search Engine Land

10+ Must-See Mobile Commerce Stats � [Infographic] Mobile devices have re-engergized email marketing and are driving new growth in eCommerce with the right marketing tactics. You�re no longer limited by how and when you engage with your customers, allowing companies to promote and close sales anytime, anywhere. GetElastic

The Banner Ad Isn’t Obsolete. It’s the Future � Say whaaat? The banner ad might seem like an artifact of the early Internet era that will inevitably die out. But its functionality is the key to the future of business. Inc.

Sneak Peek at Twitter’s New Design � The improvements seem to be on the design only, and really haven�t changed what a great tweet looks like.�Here are a few screenshots of the new design compared to the current format. The changes are subtle, but most likely data-driven improvements perhaps to boost efficiency to please Twitter�s new public investor base. Social Media Today

10 Twitter Tools to Help Busy Entrepreneurs � Many people still struggle with finding the time to tweet regularly – especially busy entrepreneurs. Here are recommendations to help you take advantage of some of the most cutting-edge Twitter tools out there to make your time spent on the social platform as seamless and automated as possible while still maintaining a human touch. Shopify

Pandora Revs Up Revenue 50% On Mobile Ads � Online radio service Pandora reported a 50% gain in revenue in its fiscal third quarter, with mobile advertising breaking $100 million for the first time in the period ending Oct. 31. Who has considered advertising with them? MediaPost

14 Unique Types of Content Every Marketer Should Try � Here are some outstanding ideas for you to shake up your content balance. Get a leg up on your competitors with these Under-used content marketing types you should incorporate into your content creation strategy. Hubspot

Top 9 Blogging Communities That Can Drive Massive Traffic � Here is a list of top blogging communities where you can interact with like-minded bloggers, share each others’ post and build relationship with them and generate massive amounts of traffic. AddictedMe

5 Easy Tips to Increase Your Facebook Engagement Rate � Here are some tips that will help brands stay on message and not compromise the quality of the interactions. Business2Community

10 Surprising Social Media Statistics � Here are some statistics that may make you rethink how you�re approaching social media strategy for business. HuffingtonPost

Content Marketing for the Holidays � What does your marketing plan include this season – another boring sale? Here are a few ideas for flavoring your content with holiday cheer the right way! Social Media Today

2014 Trends Dominating eCommerce � [Infographic] The landscape is quickly changing. Thanks to good data, we have a clear read of what lies ahead in the web of eCommerce. Here’s a high level overview of what to tune into for successful operations in 2014! Visual.ly

Tired of social media? Why Not Have Google Tweet For You � Google tries patenting computer-generated, personalized social media reactions. The basics of the patent is that Google knows so much about you that it could generate personalized reactions on�social media on your behalf. What do you think, creative or a bit Big Brother? ArsTechnica

12 Wonderful Examples of Immersive Online Storytelling � The best long form experiences on the web blend quality content, eye-catching design and useful functionality. Can you pick out the common elements that make this content sing? eConsultancy

Survey: 91 Percent Of Parents To Use Smartphones Black Friday Weekend � As the first winter snow blankets parts of the East Coast and Midwest, a blizzard of new Black Friday/Cyber Monday PR-driven survey data, predictions and �infographics� are hitting the wires and in boxes. Each of the involved studies offers slightly different figures and estimates of what will happen. Among those addressing mobile usage there�s a consensus: smartphones will be out in force. Marketing Land

�E-commerce: 10 Case Studies to Help You Excel in Content Marketing, Social Media and Website Optimization � Customers relish in the convenience and ease of online shopping, but those on the other side of the screen know the process isn�t so effortless. Read on for insights from 10 case studies that you can use to aid your e-commerce marketing efforts. MarketingSherpa

From the Online Community

From 3 Tools to Help You Find Influencers in Social, Digital Insights said, Great article Eliza, influencers add that seal of credibility to your business/brand. With the tools you have mentioned makes the process simpler and easier with effective results.

From Content Marketing With Press Releases: Pros, Cons, Examples & Best Practices, Susan Payton said, As a communications professional, I’ve been wringing my hands about the whole Google killing press releases thing, as it affects my business. But you reiterate what I already believed: press releases are one more breadcrumb trail back to a site. And I was happy to hear that journalists DO use them to find news.

John Trader said, Excellent, excellent post Nicolette. When Google recently announced that they were giving less credence to links that appear in news releases, I think a lot of PR pros saw this as a reason to give up on this medium when in fact news releases continue to have an important place in the PR tool belt. Your post gives some very concrete reasons why, and I love the examples of companies doing it right. Thanks so much for this great post!

From Beyond Content Marketing Basics: Optimize & Socialize Your Digital Marketing for 2014, Raghav Thakur said, Customer satisfaction is most important, no matter what, you will have to ask them what they want and tell them what will be your approach towards it.

What’s Your Take?

Are press releases back on the front burner as a relevant part of your content marketing mix? Will 2014 be the year you go beyond content marketing basics?

StumbleUpon Marketing: How to Drive More Traffic to Your Content � In this podcast, Michael Stelzner interviews Nick Robinson, co-author of StumbleUpon for Dummies. Nick shares how StumbleUpon works and why it�s different than other platforms, how to discover shareable content and the type of content that works. Social Media Examiner

How to Use LinkedIn to Promote Your Professional Services � Build a routine, deepen your network, and share. These practices have worked for decades in helping professionals earn new clients and matters. Now this same process can be done online, on LinkedIn. It would be a shame to waste the opportunity. MarketingProfs

Ethical Content Curation: A 10-Step Checklist � Curation is nothing new, but many content curators are still unsure about what constitutes ethical content curation. Use this 10-step checklist as a guide. Content Marketing Institute

9 Ways the Pros Integrate Their Blog with Google+ to Dominate SERPs � Learn how to leverage the connection between your blog and the social network with the strongest social signal impact in search ranking, Google plus. Socialmouths

Twitter Now Lets More Advertisers Target TV Show Conversations � Twitter�s TV ad targeting product, launched earlier this year, lets television advertisers promote tweets to users who are referencing the shows in which their ads are appearing. Now TV conversation targeting opens this type of engagement up to those companies that aren�t running TV ads in the specific shows they want to run promoted tweets against. Search Engine Land

10+ Must-See Mobile Commerce Stats � [Infographic] Mobile devices have re-engergized email marketing and are driving new growth in eCommerce with the right marketing tactics. You�re no longer limited by how and when you engage with your customers, allowing companies to promote and close sales anytime, anywhere. GetElastic

The Banner Ad Isn’t Obsolete. It’s the Future � Say whaaat? The banner ad might seem like an artifact of the early Internet era that will inevitably die out. But its functionality is the key to the future of business. Inc.

Sneak Peek at Twitter’s New Design � The improvements seem to be on the design only, and really haven�t changed what a great tweet looks like.�Here are a few screenshots of the new design compared to the current format. The changes are subtle, but most likely data-driven improvements perhaps to boost efficiency to please Twitter�s new public investor base. Social Media Today

10 Twitter Tools to Help Busy Entrepreneurs � Many people still struggle with finding the time to tweet regularly – especially busy entrepreneurs. Here are recommendations to help you take advantage of some of the most cutting-edge Twitter tools out there to make your time spent on the social platform as seamless and automated as possible while still maintaining a human touch. Shopify

Pandora Revs Up Revenue 50% On Mobile Ads � Online radio service Pandora reported a 50% gain in revenue in its fiscal third quarter, with mobile advertising breaking $100 million for the first time in the period ending Oct. 31. Who has considered advertising with them? MediaPost

14 Unique Types of Content Every Marketer Should Try � Here are some outstanding ideas for you to shake up your content balance. Get a leg up on your competitors with these Under-used content marketing types you should incorporate into your content creation strategy. Hubspot

Top 9 Blogging Communities That Can Drive Massive Traffic � Here is a list of top blogging communities where you can interact with like-minded bloggers, share each others’ post and build relationship with them and generate massive amounts of traffic. AddictedMe

5 Easy Tips to Increase Your Facebook Engagement Rate � Here are some tips that will help brands stay on message and not compromise the quality of the interactions. Business2Community

10 Surprising Social Media Statistics � Here are some statistics that may make you rethink how you�re approaching social media strategy for business. HuffingtonPost

Content Marketing for the Holidays � What does your marketing plan include this season – another boring sale? Here are a few ideas for flavoring your content with holiday cheer the right way! Social Media Today

2014 Trends Dominating eCommerce � [Infographic] The landscape is quickly changing. Thanks to good data, we have a clear read of what lies ahead in the web of eCommerce. Here’s a high level overview of what to tune into for successful operations in 2014! Visual.ly

Tired of social media? Why Not Have Google Tweet For You � Google tries patenting computer-generated, personalized social media reactions. The basics of the patent is that Google knows so much about you that it could generate personalized reactions on�social media on your behalf. What do you think, creative or a bit Big Brother? ArsTechnica

12 Wonderful Examples of Immersive Online Storytelling � The best long form experiences on the web blend quality content, eye-catching design and useful functionality. Can you pick out the common elements that make this content sing? eConsultancy

Survey: 91 Percent Of Parents To Use Smartphones Black Friday Weekend � As the first winter snow blankets parts of the East Coast and Midwest, a blizzard of new Black Friday/Cyber Monday PR-driven survey data, predictions and �infographics� are hitting the wires and in boxes. Each of the involved studies offers slightly different figures and estimates of what will happen. Among those addressing mobile usage there�s a consensus: smartphones will be out in force. Marketing Land

�E-commerce: 10 Case Studies to Help You Excel in Content Marketing, Social Media and Website Optimization � Customers relish in the convenience and ease of online shopping, but those on the other side of the screen know the process isn�t so effortless. Read on for insights from 10 case studies that you can use to aid your e-commerce marketing efforts. MarketingSherpa

From the Online Community

From 3 Tools to Help You Find Influencers in Social, Digital Insights said, Great article Eliza, influencers add that seal of credibility to your business/brand. With the tools you have mentioned makes the process simpler and easier with effective results.

From Content Marketing With Press Releases: Pros, Cons, Examples & Best Practices, Susan Payton said, As a communications professional, I’ve been wringing my hands about the whole Google killing press releases thing, as it affects my business. But you reiterate what I already believed: press releases are one more breadcrumb trail back to a site. And I was happy to hear that journalists DO use them to find news.

John Trader said, Excellent, excellent post Nicolette. When Google recently announced that they were giving less credence to links that appear in news releases, I think a lot of PR pros saw this as a reason to give up on this medium when in fact news releases continue to have an important place in the PR tool belt. Your post gives some very concrete reasons why, and I love the examples of companies doing it right. Thanks so much for this great post!

From Beyond Content Marketing Basics: Optimize & Socialize Your Digital Marketing for 2014, Raghav Thakur said, Customer satisfaction is most important, no matter what, you will have to ask them what they want and tell them what will be your approach towards it.

What’s Your Take?

Are press releases back on the front burner as a relevant part of your content marketing mix? Will 2014 be the year you go beyond content marketing basics?

StumbleUpon Marketing: How to Drive More Traffic to Your Content � In this podcast, Michael Stelzner interviews Nick Robinson, co-author of StumbleUpon for Dummies. Nick shares how StumbleUpon works and why it�s different than other platforms, how to discover shareable content and the type of content that works. Social Media Examiner

How to Use LinkedIn to Promote Your Professional Services � Build a routine, deepen your network, and share. These practices have worked for decades in helping professionals earn new clients and matters. Now this same process can be done online, on LinkedIn. It would be a shame to waste the opportunity. MarketingProfs

Ethical Content Curation: A 10-Step Checklist � Curation is nothing new, but many content curators are still unsure about what constitutes ethical content curation. Use this 10-step checklist as a guide. Content Marketing Institute

9 Ways the Pros Integrate Their Blog with Google+ to Dominate SERPs � Learn how to leverage the connection between your blog and the social network with the strongest social signal impact in search ranking, Google plus. Socialmouths

Twitter Now Lets More Advertisers Target TV Show Conversations � Twitter�s TV ad targeting product, launched earlier this year, lets television advertisers promote tweets to users who are referencing the shows in which their ads are appearing. Now TV conversation targeting opens this type of engagement up to those companies that aren�t running TV ads in the specific shows they want to run promoted tweets against. Search Engine Land

10+ Must-See Mobile Commerce Stats � [Infographic] Mobile devices have re-engergized email marketing and are driving new growth in eCommerce with the right marketing tactics. You�re no longer limited by how and when you engage with your customers, allowing companies to promote and close sales anytime, anywhere. GetElastic

The Banner Ad Isn’t Obsolete. It’s the Future � Say whaaat? The banner ad might seem like an artifact of the early Internet era that will inevitably die out. But its functionality is the key to the future of business. Inc.

Sneak Peek at Twitter’s New Design � The improvements seem to be on the design only, and really haven�t changed what a great tweet looks like.�Here are a few screenshots of the new design compared to the current format. The changes are subtle, but most likely data-driven improvements perhaps to boost efficiency to please Twitter�s new public investor base. Social Media Today

10 Twitter Tools to Help Busy Entrepreneurs � Many people still struggle with finding the time to tweet regularly – especially busy entrepreneurs. Here are recommendations to help you take advantage of some of the most cutting-edge Twitter tools out there to make your time spent on the social platform as seamless and automated as possible while still maintaining a human touch. Shopify

Pandora Revs Up Revenue 50% On Mobile Ads � Online radio service Pandora reported a 50% gain in revenue in its fiscal third quarter, with mobile advertising breaking $100 million for the first time in the period ending Oct. 31. Who has considered advertising with them? MediaPost

14 Unique Types of Content Every Marketer Should Try � Here are some outstanding ideas for you to shake up your content balance. Get a leg up on your competitors with these Under-used content marketing types you should incorporate into your content creation strategy. Hubspot

Top 9 Blogging Communities That Can Drive Massive Traffic � Here is a list of top blogging communities where you can interact with like-minded bloggers, share each others’ post and build relationship with them and generate massive amounts of traffic. AddictedMe

5 Easy Tips to Increase Your Facebook Engagement Rate � Here are some tips that will help brands stay on message and not compromise the quality of the interactions. Business2Community

10 Surprising Social Media Statistics � Here are some statistics that may make you rethink how you�re approaching social media strategy for business. HuffingtonPost

Content Marketing for the Holidays � What does your marketing plan include this season – another boring sale? Here are a few ideas for flavoring your content with holiday cheer the right way! Social Media Today

2014 Trends Dominating eCommerce � [Infographic] The landscape is quickly changing. Thanks to good data, we have a clear read of what lies ahead in the web of eCommerce. Here’s a high level overview of what to tune into for successful operations in 2014! Visual.ly

Tired of social media? Why Not Have Google Tweet For You � Google tries patenting computer-generated, personalized social media reactions. The basics of the patent is that Google knows so much about you that it could generate personalized reactions on�social media on your behalf. What do you think, creative or a bit Big Brother? ArsTechnica

12 Wonderful Examples of Immersive Online Storytelling � The best long form experiences on the web blend quality content, eye-catching design and useful functionality. Can you pick out the common elements that make this content sing? eConsultancy

Survey: 91 Percent Of Parents To Use Smartphones Black Friday Weekend � As the first winter snow blankets parts of the East Coast and Midwest, a blizzard of new Black Friday/Cyber Monday PR-driven survey data, predictions and �infographics� are hitting the wires and in boxes. Each of the involved studies offers slightly different figures and estimates of what will happen. Among those addressing mobile usage there�s a consensus: smartphones will be out in force. Marketing Land

�E-commerce: 10 Case Studies to Help You Excel in Content Marketing, Social Media and Website Optimization � Customers relish in the convenience and ease of online shopping, but those on the other side of the screen know the process isn�t so effortless. Read on for insights from 10 case studies that you can use to aid your e-commerce marketing efforts. MarketingSherpa

From the Online Community

From 3 Tools to Help You Find Influencers in Social, Digital Insights said, Great article Eliza, influencers add that seal of credibility to your business/brand. With the tools you have mentioned makes the process simpler and easier with effective results.

From Content Marketing With Press Releases: Pros, Cons, Examples & Best Practices, Susan Payton said, As a communications professional, I’ve been wringing my hands about the whole Google killing press releases thing, as it affects my business. But you reiterate what I already believed: press releases are one more breadcrumb trail back to a site. And I was happy to hear that journalists DO use them to find news.

John Trader said, Excellent, excellent post Nicolette. When Google recently announced that they were giving less credence to links that appear in news releases, I think a lot of PR pros saw this as a reason to give up on this medium when in fact news releases continue to have an important place in the PR tool belt. Your post gives some very concrete reasons why, and I love the examples of companies doing it right. Thanks so much for this great post!

From Beyond Content Marketing Basics: Optimize & Socialize Your Digital Marketing for 2014, Raghav Thakur said, Customer satisfaction is most important, no matter what, you will have to ask them what they want and tell them what will be your approach towards it.

What’s Your Take?

Are press releases back on the front burner as a relevant part of your content marketing mix? Will 2014 be the year you go beyond content marketing basics?

In a significant move, Google rolled out CPM bidding by viewable impression in AdWords this week. Advertisers will only be charged for ad impressions that can actually be viewed in-screen by users, rather than on the traditional served impression basis.

New reporting metrics are also available, all powered by Google’s viewability measurement solution, Active View, which received MRC accreditation earlier this year.

Viewable CPM bidding�is available to all campaigns running on the Google Display Network, including remarketing campaigns.

Taking action after a completing a test in Google AdWords may just have become a whole lot easier. An new “undo” button was spotted last night in the Change History reporting by Heather Cooan, director of client services at Clix Marketing.

Here’s a screenshot from Heather’s account after she clicked on the “undo” button next to one of the line items. Heather notes that a new line item is created when the change is marked as undone, and the “undo” button is made available in case you want to revert back again.

The feature doesn’t appear to have rolled out to everyone yet, so you’re not alone if you don’t see it yet.

Through a Chrome browser extension users can now invoke the hotword (or hot phrase) “OK Google” to initiate hands-free searches on the PC. Voice search on Chrome was possible before but you needed to manually select the microphone.

After the browser extension is installed you simply need to say “OK Google,” pause briefly and speak a query. This brings the functionality of Google Glass voice search and hands-free search on smartphones to the PC.

Hotword voice search can only be initiated from the Google.com homepage or a Google SERP, when the search bar with a microphone is visible.�What would be “totally awesome,” however, is if Google could enable voice search from the address bar so that hands-free voice queries or navigation could take place from any web page.

In some situations hands-free search is a great help — such as in Google’s messy hands Thanksgiving example — in others it’s of limited value. Google’s speech recognition doesn’t always pick up the final words in lengthy queries. And its accuracy is not always perfect. But for several-word queries, short questions and hands-free navigation it’s great.

Essentially, the program analyzes the messages a user makes through social networks, email, text messaging, microblogging, and other systems. Then, the program offers suggestions for responses, where the original messages are displayed, with information about others reactions to the same messages, and then the user can send the suggested messages in response to those users. The more the user utilizes the program and uses the responses, the more the bot can narrow down the types of responses you make.

The key to this is the personalized reactions. We've all seen typical blog spam comments made to blog posts along the lines of "Great, keep up the good work" or "This was really insightful and made me think."

However, this program would generates personalize reactions and messages that continue to be tailored to the user and specifically to the messages being responded to. It also will automatically adjust the suggested messages that generates over time, so that you don't get the kind of situation where you respond to every interaction with "Great!"

The present disclosure is particularly advantageous because it provides a system and interface that automatically generate suggestions for personalized reactions or messages. There is no requirement for the user to set reminders or be proactive. The system automatically without user input analyzes information to which the user has access, and generates suggestions for personalized reactions to messages. The suggestion analyzer cooperates with the decision tree to learn the user's behavior and automatically adjust the suggested messages that are generated over time.

The patent covers a variety of methods covering all steps of the program.

The present disclosure also describes a number of methods including a method for initializing a message suggestion system, a method for generating suggested messages or reactions, a method for sending suggested messages or reactions, and a method for updating a suggestion analyzer.

This patent could revolutionize social media marketing, particularly for businesses and celebrities who want to ensure they are engaging with customers or fans, but might not necessarily have the manpower or the time to do it manually. While there are tools that exist to help automate some of these things, something that can analyze content and suggest appropriate responses that can evolve over time doesn't exist.

Introducing... ClickZ Live!SES Conference & Expo has merged with ClickZ to bring you ClickZ Live! The new global conference series takes on the identity of the industry's premier digital marketing publication, ClickZ.com, and kicks off March 31-April 3 in New York City. Join the industry's leading tech-advertisers in the advertising capital of the world! Find out more ��*Super Saver Rates expire Jan 24.

When Google launched the disavow tool, there was lots of discussion about whether people should use the disavow tool even Google hadn't taken a manual action against their sites. There were people making blacklists of what they considered low-quality sites that were linking to many different sites, that they would mass submit to Google to disavow across the entire network of sites.

But there was really no consensus over whether webmasters needed to do anything with the disavow tool if they didn't have manual action, or if they should just leave it until they did have a warning pop up.

Google's Distinguished Engineer Matt Cutts discussed the disavow tool, and whether it should be used as a pre-emptive measure, in a recent webmaster help video.

Cutts started by describing when the disavow tool should be used. After a webmaster has gone through the usual routes of trying to get links removed off sites they see as being low-quality, whether it was from poor SEO decisions or a bad SEO company, then that is when you would use the disavow tool, to disavow the links you haven't been able to get removed.

What about if you don't have a warning? Cutts recommended you use the disavow tool if you have identified any suspicious or low-quality backlinks you believe might hurt you.

"If you are at all worried about someone trying to do negative SEO or it looks like there's some weird bot that's building up a bunch of links to your site and you have no idea where it came from, that's the perfect time to use disavow as well," Cutts said. "I wouldn't worry about going ahead and disavowing links even if you don't have a message in your webmaster console."

Clearly, Google is hinting the webmaster should keep a pretty close eye on their backlink profile, and make disavows based on any suspicious changes they see, and not wait for it to be penalized and show up as a message in webmaster tools.

"So if you've done the work to keep an active look on your backlinks and you see something strange going on, you don't have to wait around," Cutts said. "Feel free to just go ahead and pre-emptively say, you know what this is a weird domain, I have nothing to do with it, and no idea what this particular bot is doing in terms of making links, so go ahead and do disavows even on a domain level."

It is worth noting that this is a different stance on the disavow tool than Google has previously taken. From the disavow tool page Google states that the disavow tool should be used only "if you are confident that the links are causing issues for you." However, Cutts is now saying something different, that the disavow tool should be used even if those links aren't yet causing issues.

Cutts also recognized that webmasters tend to get really stressed out about being penalized by Google. There is a significant concern amongst a lot of webmasters that links, something that is often out of their control, could negatively impact them, and if they do get penalized, will suffer the traffic consequences while a disavow is done and the penalty eventually lifted.

"If you're at all stressed, if you're worried, if you're not able to sleep at night because you think Google might have something, or might see it, or we might get a spam report about you, or there might be some misunderstanding or an algorithm might rank your site lower, I would feel free to just go ahead and disavow those links as well," Cutts said.

So definitely keep a close eye on your backlinks, particularly your new ones, if you aren't already, and make a point of disavowing those poor quality or suspicious backlinks before it can have any impact on your site.

Introducing... ClickZ Live!SES Conference & Expo has merged with ClickZ to bring you ClickZ Live! The new global conference series takes on the identity of the industry's premier digital marketing publication, ClickZ.com, and kicks off March 31-April 3 in New York City. Join the industry's leading tech-advertisers in the advertising capital of the world! Find out more ��*Super Saver Rates expire Jan 24.

Microsoft is reportedly looking at encrypting their Internet traffic which would include their search results, in response to the NSA spying controversy where it is believed that the NSA was able to gain access to Microsoft's global communication links.

Encrypted search is something that is gained a lot of popularity recently, particularly since Google made a highly publicized switch where all searches, instead of just those for people that are logged into their Google account as was done previously, would be encrypted. Google made the switch back in September for encrypted search as default and since then people had been watching to see if Microsoft and Yahoo would follow suit, which they finally seem to be doing.

What does this mean for webmasters? Right now, other than the limited data webmasters get in Google's Webmaster Tools, having Bing and Yahoo search referrals are really the only way that webmasters can get an idea of what keywords are bringing visitors into their site. Even though it is generally fairly low percentage of traffic for most websites, it is better than nothing.

However, Microsoft switching over to encrypted search on Bing would mean those webmasters could very likely end up not getting this data from Bing any longer. As a user searchers for something with encrypted search, the URL search referral that brings a user to a website is completely encrypted, meaning webmasters will not know the keywords that brought visitors to the site.

In Google's case, this is where we see "(not provided)" in Google Analytics. Microsoft is looking at implementing it not just on Bing, but across the full range of services they offer on both the business and consumer level.

Yahoo has also announced that they plan to offer encryption, however Yahoo's encryption will be an opt-in for users, where users need to specifically opt into encrypted searches. And unless Yahoo users are somehow prompted and asked whether they buy to opt in, chances are very good users either won't realize it's there or not know why encrypted searches are important.

The other piece of the puzzle is that Bing provides search results for Yahoo, so Microsoft could easily pressure Yahoo to encrypt searches regardless of whether a person has opted in.

As the search world continues evolving to encrypted searches, webmasters are just going to have to evolve with it. Currently webmasters can get the limited data in Google Webmaster Tools and have access to keyword data for any paid Google AdWords ads, finding ways to work around "(not provided)", particularly with Bing and Yahoo moving in that direction, is crucial.

Top Microsoft executives are reportedly making key decisions on encrypted search this week during meetings at Redmond.

Introducing... ClickZ Live!SES Conference & Expo has merged with ClickZ to bring you ClickZ Live! The new global conference series takes on the identity of the industry's premier digital marketing publication, ClickZ.com, and kicks off March 31-April 3 in New York City. Join the industry's leading tech-advertisers in the advertising capital of the world! Find out more ��*Super Saver Rates expire Jan 24.

It's no secret that content that includes images attracts more attention. I've seen statistics that say that content with images can get well over 90 percent more total views than content without images and that paid social posts with images generate more engagement.

Also, I prefer content that includes images. It breaks up the tedium of reading an article, sometimes provides a laugh, and helps make the content stick in my mind.

However, too few people actively seem to market their images in their link building campaigns. It's been awhile since we've been asked to build image links and that's a shame. And I've also noticed that the pages we're building links to, for the most part, also don't really make good use of images.

7 Easy Ways to Use Images in Link Campaigns

Let's look at a few easy ways that images can be used in your link campaigns.

Use them to link back to your site from another site. We've had site owners say they don't do text links, but would happily do an image link.Use them in your content to naturally attract more links. Anything that makes users happier makes them more likely to share, and that ups the odds for more links.Use them in your content to increase user engagement. Maybe you've used an image that is just too hysterical not to comment on, whereas a visitor wouldn't have commented on your text? Yes, it happens.Gain traffic from them when they're found in an image search. Maybe a person finds your site for the first time through an image search, and that leads to a new customer, a new email subscriber, some social love, or a new link.Use them to promote your site on social media (not just Pinterest.) Build links to those social sites, too. According to a Buffer blog post, "tweets with image links get 2x the engagement rate of those without." More engagement equals the potential for more links.Create infographics and comics.Use them to help promote your seasonal content. If you're having a company-wide donation program for the holidays, a photo of all the donations you've gathered will be much more interesting than just saying "yeah, we have a lot of donations."What Makes a good image:

(Note: all are copied from Creative Commons or were used on this site.

It's funny or satirical. (Please excuse the blurriness here, as it seems to add to the humor in my opinion.)

It's educational.

It helps make your point.

It's clear and not fuzzy.

It's memorable.

(and it's used for just one link.)What Makes a Bad ImageIt's unnecessarily crude, rude, or offensive. If you're The Onion, a humor or satire site, or even a big news site, you can get away with this more than if you're a small company selling toddler outfits.It serves no purpose other than to provide an image where one is needed. I'd rather read tons of text without any images than spend 10 minutes wondering why in the world a certain image has been used when it seems to make absolutely no sense.It's fuzzy and any text present isn't easily read. Coming across small images that don't magnify easily is extremely frustrating. If you're posting a screenshot with data that proves your point, we should be able to actually read the data.It's one that's been seen everywhere else. It's still amusing to me to see some of "The Lord of the Rings" images that keep popping up, but after seeing about 100 of them over the past year, I can't remember what any of them said, where they were, etc.It contains multiple links. Yes, cramming in tons of links in an image map back in 2001 was fun but it's a really, really bad idea. If you're legitimately using an image map, then that's one thing, but for the purposes of what I'm talking about in this post, your typical image should be used for one link target.Publishing & Optimization Guidelines

A few things to make sure are done:

The alt text is present and makes sense. Don't use this to stuff keywords into the image, either, and use it thinking about its original purpose, which was to aid screen readers. If the image is a green cow, then use "green cow" as your alt text. Don't use "best and most greatest green cow buy now cheap low price poker."Read Google's image publishing guidelines, and follow them as best you can in order to maximize the odds of getting found there.The quality of the image is high. If it makes your visitors think they need new contact lenses, it's not great quality.Width and height of the image are specified.Image is properly displayed and doesn't cause the entire site to be shifted inches to one side and down about 5 feet.Anchor text used for your link is relevant and descriptive, not misleading.

For more tips, see "Image Optimization: How to Rank on Image Search".

Where to Get Images & How to Use Them Legally and Responsibly

The Creative Commons is my go-to site for finding images that I can use online, if I'm not creating my own.

If you do use an image from somewhere else, you need to properly credit the source, but still check to make sure that the image is usable. Some people don't want their images used elsewhere even if you credit them.

If an image isn't listed in Creative Commons or as being available for reproduction, you should have permission to use an image. Even if you cite the source, you need to include information saying that you've been given permission to use it.

Google's has added an image mismatch manual action penalty so be careful with images!

1 Must-Have Tool & 2 Cool Image Programs

Tin Eye is a reverse image search engine that lets you either upload a file or enter in a URL in order to find copies of your image that are elsewhere and probably not sanctioned by you. If you've ever seen an unlinked brand mention and turned that into a link, use that same technique with unlinked images if you want to.

Tin Eye also have browser plugins. You can also use this to find out where an image came from, if you want to use something, and tells you if there are modified or higher resolution versions of it online somewhere.

Here are a couple of cool programs to help you do your own images:

Adobe Ideas: I use this on my iPad and it's fantastic for illustrating screenshots.Skitch: I'm a big Evernote freak so Skitch is a daily tool for me. It's also fantastic for illustrating screenshots.

Note: A good article on this site provides information on Pinterest images that had the most user engagement. Give that article a read as you can apply this information to anything else you do with images.

Analyzing Your Profile for Image Links

I like Majestic SEO for this because of (get ready for it) the way they portray the percentages of types of links in an image!

You can mouse over each block and get the actual number of image links as well. If you don't like that visual representation you can click off the Chart type and onto the Data type and see proper numbers:

Analyze your site and a few of your competitors so you can get an idea of what's typical. If you have 4 image links and 9,000 text links, while your competitors all have 1,000 image links and 9,000 text links, I'd say you need more image links.

Example

Now, to give you a real-life example, I spoke to Chris Gilchrist, owner of Hitreach.co.uk who gave me the following insight into how well their new comic strip series has performed:

About the time spent on promotions, which is very interesting since it is so low, I find it fascinating that they've come up with a cool idea and have nailed it down to just putting them on Pinterest, Google+, and Twitter. That's very little time for people who think they have no free time to do anything, and they're easier to quickly push than a lot of other types of content.

Their comics are amusing, relevant to the industry, and not anything controversial enough to make the owners spend their time defending their work or arguing about the content. As anyone who's written publicly knows, you can get very caught up in responding to comments about your content.

The Most Important Thing to Remember

You increase the odds for links when you share the images you use! I'm not advising you to share each small image in a post of course, but if you put some time into creating a great image, do share it socially. Maybe it will draw attention to your content in a way that otherwise wouldn't work.

Introducing... ClickZ Live!SES Conference & Expo has merged with ClickZ to bring you ClickZ Live! The new global conference series takes on the identity of the industry's premier digital marketing publication, ClickZ.com, and kicks off March 31-April 3 in New York City. Join the industry's leading tech-advertisers in the advertising capital of the world! Find out more ��*Super Saver Rates expire Jan 24.

In time for the holiday travel season, Google Maps now includes street views for a number of transit locations across the globe. Yesterday, a post on the Google Maps blog claimed the site has added street views for 16 international airports, more than 50 train and subway stations, as well as a Hong Kong cable car station.

According to Google:

Now you can visit the check-in counter of your airline in Madrid, map out the way from baggage claim to the bus at Tokyo International Airport and check out where to pick up your rental car at Eindhoven Airport; you can even scope out your seat on an Emirates flight from Dubai!

The blog post provided the following interactive map pinpointing where the new international transit location street views have been added:

Google also offered images from a number of the new transit sites, including the Madrid-Barajas airport in Spain, inside an Emirates flight from Dubai, and London’s Waterloo Station.

What do you get the Apple fanboi who has everything? If you're Google Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt, the answer is an Android phone.

The recommendation came as part of a rare and lengthy Google+ post by Schmidt over the weekend giving the Apple community a comprehensive guide on to how to flee to his company's products.

"The latest high-end phones [...] have better screens, are faster, and have a much more intuitive interface," Schmidt wrote. "They are a great Christmas present to an iPhone user!"

He then gave iPhone users instructions on how to transfer data.

His advice included always using two-step verification and switching the web browser to Chrome.

The post is unprecedented. Schmidt isn't known for his active participation in his company's social network, and this sudden lengthy post seems carefully constructed with step-by-step instructions for not only joining the Android ecosystem, but also exporting data from iCloud.

"Many of my iPhone friends are converting to Android," he wrote. That sounds fine and dandy, but we might ask, how many of those iPhone owning friends have ever bothered to read a post on Google+?

We're hoping that this is the beginning of a whole range of "How To" guides from Eric Schmidt. Some we'd love to see are, "Eric Schmidt's Guide To Throwing Pots", "Eric Schmidt's Guide To Survival In The Wilderness", "Eric Schmidt's Guide To Choosing Spectacles To Drive The Ladies Wild", and most especially, "Eric Schmidt's Guide To Opting Out Of Google+".

This article was originally published on the Inquirer.

Introducing... ClickZ Live!SES Conference & Expo has merged with ClickZ to bring you ClickZ Live! The new global conference series takes on the identity of the industry's premier digital marketing publication, ClickZ.com, and kicks off March 31-April 3 in New York City. Join the industry's leading tech-advertisers in the advertising capital of the world! Find out more ��*Super Saver Rates expire Jan 24.

It appears Google has been rapidly expanding their new yellow ad label found on their search ads over the past week.

Google began testing these yellow ad labels on mobile search and then expanded the test to the UK and beyond. Now, it seems as if we are receiving two to three emails per day from readers saying they are seeing the new yellow ad label in the search results.

Here is a picture:

If I had to guess, this is the new AdWords ad format that will be rolling out officially on both desktop and mobile search results in the next couple weeks.

It appears Google has been rapidly expanding their new yellow ad label found on their search ads over the past week.

Google began testing these yellow ad labels on mobile search and then expanded the test to the UK and beyond. Now, it seems as if we are receiving two to three emails per day from readers saying they are seeing the new yellow ad label in the search results.

Here is a picture:

If I had to guess, this is the new AdWords ad format that will be rolling out officially on both desktop and mobile search results in the next couple weeks.

Influencers are influential. They have a significant following on their social channels and are so knowledgeable about a topic that people not only like to consume their content, but share it. Engaging an influencer and being promoted by them is a great way for your brand to increase visibility, grow a following, and rank in search. Sounds simple right? It�s actually something many brands struggle with.

There are over 500 million registered Twitter accounts, 300 million active monthly Google+ users, and 1.26 billion Facebook users. Add to that the 150 million people that are active on Instagram in any given month, the 70 million on Pinterest, and the 238 million members on LinkedIn and it�s no wonder finding influencers is a bit like playing �Where�s Waldo?�

But it doesn�t have to be. There are dozens, if not hundreds, of tools out there that can help find influential people in your industry in an easy, cost-effective manner. The problem becomes how to choose from all of those tools. Don�t worry; we�ve made that easier too. Here are three tools we love for finding influencers on Twitter, Google+ and LinkedIn:

For Twitter: FollowerwonkA picture is worth a thousand words. Followerwonk knows that, and shows you a majority of data in visual formats to make it easier to understand.

The tool, which delves deeply into Twitter analytics, can show you things from who your followers are and where they�re located to when they tweet, what keywords are used most often by your followers (or those you follow), who you�re following relative to someone else, and when your most active hours for retweets are.

Finding influencers is made easy by the search Twitter bios function. Enter a keyword � a product name, a topic, an industry, whatever seems relevant � and Followerwonk generates a report for you of everyone who uses that term or phrase in their Twitter bio.

The list bolds the word you searched for, shows the name and avatar of the account, how any followers they have, and their social authority. Sorting by relevance, or social authority can help you pinpoint people who are influential on Twitter for that phrase.

The tool makes it easy to follow the people you find by including a �Follow� button next to the avatar of those who show up in your search. The free account has some reporting limitations that can be circumvented by �subscribing�, which is free for 30-days.

For Google+: Circle CountDesigned to help you understand Google+, the homepage of the tool shows popular categories like: people with highly engaging content, most followed profiles and pages, and today�s cream of the crop which highlights interesting profiles. All of the categories are great places to look for inspiration and creative ideas.

How it works: you can search using a name, location, or the URL of a profile to generate a list of results. Click on any one of them, and you�re taken to a profile of information.

What you�ll see: The profile has a ton of useful information in it including:� Links to their other social channels� Bio & Occupation� Profile rank (where their profile ranks out of all Google+ profiles)� Number of followers and following� Follower history graph� Average activity numbers for the last 50 posts� Stream of latest posts

Feature we really like: the profile also shows how many public circles the person has been shared in. Taking it one step further the Circle Count reports who shared, the number of followers they have, the date of the share, how many users are in the circle they shared to, and how many comments, reshares and +1s the share received.

That feature is a great way to identify the influencers that are engaging with your content and have a noticeable interest in that topic. You can click on any name in the author column and be taken to their Circle Count report and follow their page from there.

The tool is also a great way to search for influencers you�ve identified on other channels to determine their klout on Google+.

The numbers of each profile are the public numbers shown on Google+. However, the platform caches the numbers so the profile generated by Circle Count isn�t always the most up to date data.

Not all profiles will show up in Circle Count but can be added by using the URL or profile ID on the homepage.

For LinkedIn: Influencers ProgramLaunched a little over a year ago, the Influencer Program on LinkedIn allows thought leaders to share their original content directly with LinkedIn users. Users in turn can follow influencers to read and interact with their content, along with sharing it with their own networks.

There are over 300 influencers in the program. Their average post receives around 30,000 views and is read by entry-level professionals all the way through to director-level and above.

You can browse influencers by a list of them all, or by channel which sorts the posts by topic. The channels cover a wide variety of information from accounting, customer service, the economy, and green business to healthcare, online advertising, retail and technology.

Not only are the authors influencers themselves, but make sure to pay attention to the people who interact with the post. People who comment, like and share content have shown an interest in the topic, and demonstrated their own knowledge in their posts. Those kinds of people are likely to engage with your content, and can be great people to cite and connect with!

Influencers have the ability to help your brand reach its audience in a personal, honest way that doesn�t take a huge bite out of your budget. There are tools out there to help you narrow down the arena of social media users to a manageable list of people worth connecting with. But it�s up to you to build a relationship with them through engagement, support, and conversation.

What tools have you used to find influencers? What are some unique ways you�ve begun to engage with them? Let us know in the comments!

Google is celebrating the 50th birthday of the BBC’s Doctor Who series early, with a global release of a Doctor Who-themed Google logo and game on its homepage today. The actual anniversary of the show is tomorrow, November 23, but Google has already started rolling out the tribute logo and video game on a number of its international homepages.

It’s not up on Google US yet, and we’ve asked Google about this. But, as today is also the 50th anniversary of the death of US President John F. Kennedy, we suspect Google decided not to run the logo in the US today. Likely, it will appear tomorrow.

Doctor Who fans can play the game on Google UK or here.

The Doctor Who Google logo includes the eleven characters of Doctor Who, all bouncing atop the word Google displayed in an over-sized block letter font with a play button. The search icon in the logo takes users to a results page for “Doctor Who” and the speaker turns on Doctor Who-themed background music.

After clicking the play button, the logo launches an absorbing Doctor Who video game where users get to select their preferred Doctor Who incarnation to navigate a number of mazes. The goal of the game is to capture each letter of Google while avoiding the evil robot character Dalek. Players move from one level to the next by bringing the captured letters back to the TARDIS.

Google says the Doctor Who logo and game was requested by a Googler who was a fan of the show, and developed by a group of engineers and support from inside and outside of Google, including The BBC. According to a post on the Google Doodle website, Google thanked The BBC for, “Trusting us and also helping us whenever needed.”

Originally aired in 1963, the British sci-fi series follows the adventures of a time-traveling alien that takes on different personalities from episode to episode. Running from 1963 through 1989, Doctor Who was relaunched in 2005 and has achieved a cult-level status with fans across the world.

Here is a snap-shot of the logo along with a few screen captures, but to get the full experience, you really have to play the video game:

�Update: Google’s Doctor Who Logo and game is now up on Google US as of November 23.